The best midrange hotel in town is Hotel América (tel. 504/772-0360, Hotel-AmericaInc [at] yahoo [dot] com), close to the center. Located in an attractive colonial building, the hotel has a nice lobby, a clean swimming pool, and a cafeteria. In the older part of the hotel, rooms (US$15 s, US$26 d, more for a/c) have TV and fans. There is a small shared living room if you want to get out of your room for a while. In the newer part of the hotel, all rooms (US$27 s, US$44 d) have air-conditioning and are spacious, with desks and new bathrooms. Triples are available in both sections of the hotel. The pool (8 a.m.–9 p.m. daily) can be used by nonguests for US$2.50, or for free if you have a meal in the little restaurant.

A block off the bulevar is Hotel Comayagua (tel. 504/772-1209, hotelcomayagua10 [at] yahoo [dot] es, US$21 s, US$29 d), with good if simple little rooms, acceptable baths, and Formica floors. The place could use a paint job, but it has a shared balcony with a sofa and a couple of chairs, and overall a fairly airy feel. Rooms have TV and air-conditioning, and there is a cafeteria on-site.

A 15-minute walk from the center (across the boulevard into town) is the Hotel Villa Real (tel. 504/772-1751, www.villarealcolonial.com, US$37 s, US$49 d, breakfast included). The hotel, which looks so promising from the website, is a little disappointing in person. Some rooms are great, with colonial-style furnishings (the best is number 9, for US$58), but others are rather plain, with dated furniture (number 5 is a big letdown). There is a small but clean pool, along with some children’s play equipment (with a laundry line full of drying clothes strung across the yard during our visit).